Quantum Time Leap, Redo
by PixelGMS
Summary: [Alicization Spoilers in Summary] When in Project Alicization Kirito got his soul damaged, instead he gets sent back in time to when he first said 'Link on' in SAO arc, with the information in Alice's light cube stored on his Nervegear. Kirito then goes back through each arc, with time affected by the butterfly effect. AsunaxKirito Kirito is deemed suspicious even by his friends.


As he spoke to Kikuoka, having little idea of what was happening besides that there was a fight, Asuna was there, and that his real body was in danger, Kikuoka's voice cursed, "No… the power's cut! The lights are flickering! All hands, brace for impact!"

Only three more words were heard by Kirito, "Grab onto Alice!"

He wasn't even sure who said it.

Though it was probably either Kikuoka or Higa.

Following the orders, not even hesitating a moment, he lept over the laptop-esque device that had allowed him to speak with the real world, if at this point is could even be called more real than this one, and hastily shot out his hand, narrowly touching the closest exposed skin that he could, before many beams of light shone down from the sky, swallowing everything.

He felt no pain.

No shock.

No fear.

No impact.

No sensation in the slightest.

But suddenly, that stopped.

There was pain, there was shock, along with fear, impact, sensation.

There was also loss and confusion.

Not to mention guilt.

Alice evaporated in his hand, compressing into a 5 square centimeter cube.

He instinctively knew it was her soul contained within her light cube.

Her fluctlight.

As the loss, confusion, fear, and shock began to spread through his body, pain and impact followed close by, filling his brain with a migraine more painful than one could ever imagine.

It was more painful than anything he had felt thus far.

Suddenly, it all stopped once more.

He calmly stood, no, levitated in a void of blackness.

Looking down, he saw that his features were those of… his 14 year old self!

He also noticed that he was still holding Alice's fluctlight…

" _What's happening?"_

"Papa!" A familiar voice sung out to him. Yui, his AI daughter.

"Yui? What's happening?"

"I don't have much time to explain. You'll understand after I explain what's happening to you and Alice, soon to be known as MHCP119. Basically, both you and Alice's souls are being sent back in time…" Yui began to explain, but was soon interrupted by Kirito.

"What do you mean, being sent back in time? To go back in time you'd need to go faster than the speed of light, which isn't feasible, or even possible!"

"Daddy, you're either misunderstanding your current situation, or you don't understand what's occurring scientifically. It isn't your body that's being sent back in time, nor the light cube that stores Alice's soul, it's your fluctlights. Since souls are a construct similar to light, being energy and all, though more complicated, it is possible for them to go faster than the speed of light, if you use a soul translator. It's very advanced quantum mechanics, so I don't expect you to understand, in fact, not even I can understand it. Basically, your soul is being send back to the first time you played virtual reality for a long period of time, non-stop. Zero years, zero months, zero weeks, zero days, zero hours, zero minutes, two seconds after the launch of Aincrad, when you first spoke the words 'Link on!'."

"What about Alice? She didn't exist back then. Also, the storage device, the light cube, wasn't even invented at that point. What will be storing her? Wait…" He began to sweat, panicking slightly, "Don't tell me... they'll be using a human's brain?"

"No! Although inefficient, it is possible for a Nerve Gear, though not an Amusphere, to contain a Fluctlight. The problem is, you won't be able to store my data on it when the time comes. You'll have to store me on another person's Nerve Gear. You should also store items when you don't need them, as it will just take up unnecessary space. If you don't avoid this, some of Alice's memories may be overwritten.

Another thing, if you summon Alice before the time comes, which you will need to figure out with your own discretion, it could cause huge political strife in the real world, potentially causing the dismantling of your Nerve Gear while it is still active on your head. But that's only assuming they notice, which is unlikely, though not completely impossible."

"One more question, how come you're the one telling me this?"

"I was the only person who could get into the system undiscovered by the people who were invading the ship. Thanks to the difference in time between the real and STL world, Kikuoka-san was able to explain the situation to me briefly, and sent me into the STL to alert you."

Shockingly calm despite the situation that had been explained to him, there was only one thought that annoyed him, "Ugh, I'm gonna have to win Asuna's heart a second time. Well, being the best swordsman in Aincrad will probably help, as I'll likely be the only one among the 10,000 that has any real combat experience. Then again, it could have an adverse effect." He then sighed, resting his hand on his head, and said, "Well, it'll work out in the end."

After a few seconds of silence, Yui, tears in her eyes, bid her farewell, "Bye Daddy, I hope we meet again in your new timeline!"

.

..

…

….

…..

Everything went black

Then suddenly, different colored cylinders flew at him in a white void of otherwise nothingness.

Translucent circles flew at his line of sight, each decorated with a the word for a difference sense. After less than a second, each white box containing the word for each sense turned green, white simultaneously the word changed to 'OK' then flew out of his line of view.

Then two boxes flew into his view, one saying 'Language', and the other 'Japanese'.

Then a login box, which filled itself in automatically.

Then a box confirming his gender, which he quickly confirmed as male.

Then his sight was filled with gray, and the words in a black font saying, 'Welcome to Sword Art Online !'

Dark and light blue beams of light then flew up at him, coupled with a few bolts of electricity jumping from beam to beam.

White light gradually began to take over his view, while the blue beams gradually faded.

He then appeared at the spawn point for players in the Town of Beginnings.

He looked each way, then down at his feet and hands, and found

himself in his badly made avatar that was too handsome to be real.

He then put his right hand to his forehead, and sighed in disbelief and exasperation, "I can't believe I'm back in Old Aincrad."

" _Well, I should go meet up with… err, meet Klein."_

As he thought this, he quickly ran through the streets, mimicking the route he had when he first originally met up with Klein as best he could.

As he did so, he heard a familiar, though much younger, voice call out to him.

"Heeeeeeeey, dude! Stop for a minute!" The voice that Kirito knew to be Klein's rang out to him.

"Huh, what'dya need?" Kirito asked, forcing his voice to be as normal as possible. It was painful, but this Klein didn't know him, it would be weird if Kirito acted like he was a friend he hadn't seen in over two years, even if that was the case from Kirito's perspective.

Thankfully, Kirito wasn't a bad actor if he was prepared prior to when he actually had to do it.

"You look like you know your way around here, you were a beta-tester, right? Y'see, this is kinda my first time, so could you maybe give me a couple tips for the lower floors?" Klein pleaded, even going so far as to lower his head and put his hands together as if to pray.

Kirito, who had been friends with the Klein from his timeline for over two years, gave a grin, and greeted himself, "Alright, I'm Kirito, what's your name?"

Grinning himself, Klein answered, "I'm Klein, nice to meet yah!"

The two then casually strolled out of the town with their starter's equipment, and Kirito explained to him how the combat system worked.

Thankfully, due to his experiences teacher Eugeo in the STL, it was much easier to teach him than the first time, but due to Klein not having had experience cutting a ginormous tree his whole life, nor having had any prior experience, knowledge, or understand of sword skills besides those explained in commercials and manuals, Klein was much more pathetic than Eugeo was during his lessons.

After Klein had killed a couple of the boars on the first floor, a small pack of dire wolves appeared, and fearing that Klein wasn't skilled enough to handle them, Kirito warned him, "Stand back, you can't handle this yet," And then ran in, using only a small percentage of the skills he had honed during his time in the STL.

Only able to use the most simple of sword skills, you would think it would be a moderately challenging battle, even for Kirito, but Kirito tended to only use these simple sword skills when dueling other souls in the STL, though usually using a couple of the more complex or stronger skills. Despite this, he still practiced plenty using these simple skills, so it was pathetically simple for him to defeat them.

He even showed off a little, jumping on top of one of the boar's heads, and using it as a trampoline to gain momentum as he charged into the boar leader from the air.

Unsurprisingly, Klein looked at him in awe.

"H-how'd you do that?" He stuttered, looking at him, wide eyed.

"Hmm? Ahh, uhm…" He looked for a suitable excuse in his mind, when he suddenly got a brilliant idea that wasn't even a lie, "My family is really into Kendo…"

Sure, that wasn't the reason he could do it, but it wasn't a lie, his family was really into Kendo…

Deciding it was best to change the topic, Kirito asked, "Hey, want to take a break?"

Recovering from his momentary shock, Klein nodded and followed Kirito to where they would be resting.

After resting there for an hour or two, Kirito made an excuse about having to go to the bathroom just in case, he opened up the menu, and found, that as he expected, the logout button was missing.

"Nani? That's strange. The logout button is missing…" Kirito muttered, just loud enough for Klein to hear him, causing him to check his menu as well.

"W-well, it's probably just a bug or a glitch." Klein tried to assure Kirito, though he imagined that it was more for his own sake than his.

"No. I doubt that. This is something the developers would've noticed. Either Kayaba-san, or some other powerful person in the developer team did this on purpose. Hmm… well… what would be the point if… no… that can't be… no… it certainly is possible… given the capabilities of the Nerve Gear…" Kirito pretended to be in deep thought, as just outright saying what he knew could only lead to trouble, and possible even to people suspecting him to Kayaba himself, "Klein-san. Follow me. I have a suspicion, though I can only hope it's untrue."

Both worried and curious, Klein followed Kirito, his facial expression making it very clear that he was both confused and curious.

"Kirito, exactly what do you suspect?"

Kirito sighed, then with a hand up to his head in exasperation, he asked, "Just how much do you know of the capabilities of the Nerve Gear? I suspect as much as anyone else? Well, I've read everything about the Nerve Gear, and I've come up with a theory that many would call crazy. But, however unlikely and crazy the idea is, it is certainly feasible and plausible."

Tired of the lengthy prologue to his theory, Klein rolled his eyes and sighed, "So, exactly what are you thinking?"

"Klein-san, did you know that if the programmed in safeties of the Nerve Gear were taken down, then it would be hypothetically possible to fry the brain? Though, there is only one or two people who could possibly have the knowledge to do that. The only one that has access to SAO and has the knowledge to do that is Akihiko Kayaba, the creator of the Nerve Gear, and the creator of SAO. Do you understand what I'm implying?"

"You're right, that does sound crazy. You're pulling my leg, right? You don't actually believe that nonsense you're spouting?" Klein's face was filled with apprehension, anxiety, and an inkling of fear, along with doubt.

"Of course not. I'd never be so stupid as to believe in something like that only due to a possible theory. I'm only saying it is one of few possible circumstances, though far from the least likely. Of course, there is one way to narrow down exactly how likely it is that I'm correct in my hypothesis. The Room of Resurrection. If the Room of Resurrection is there, my hypothesis, though not proven wrong without a doubt, would be far less likely to be correct, and if it isn't there, although not proven right without a doubt, would be far more likely to be correct."

Although hesitating to continue following, Klein decided that it would be best to attempt to disprove his new friend's hypothesis.

To Klein's complete and under dismay, the Room of Resurrection was missing, replaced with a large basalt wall with the names of all 10,000 players on it. A little over 100 names were crossed out, with the words 'Death by removal of Nerve Gear.' adjacent to each username.

"Well, I think this proves my theory." Kirito spoke, not a single shred of fear could be detected in this voice. But that didn't mean that he wasn't scared.

" _Back in SAO, my life is back on the line. Well, on the plus side I don't have the feel any pain…"_

"H-how are you so calm? Wait, no, there's still the large probability that this isn't what you claim. It could just be a new feature that if the Nerve Gear is manually removed the player dies. I mean, it isn't the best feature, b-" Klein theorized, desperation clear in his voice.

"Improbable." Kirito answered, not letting a shread of the emotion he felt, the burning inferno of anger and hatred that once again burned in the pits of his stomach be heard in his voice.

"Huh?!" Klein looked at Kirito once again, a look of desperation and fear in his eyes.

"Over a hundred nerve gears removed with no discernable cause? Be reasonable. It's likely that Kayaba-san, or whoever the mastermind is, has already informed the public about what will cause the Nerve Gear to fry the brain. For now, I say we be extra careful. I also recommend we gather items while we still can. If we're stuck in here, I can only think of two reasons. One, he wants to do some sort of human experimentation on our brains, which would be the much more horrifying conclusion, or, he's turning this into one of those death games seen in manga and light novels. Defeat the final boss and we're released. Of course, this is all hypothetics, and I wouldn't even be thinking about this type of thing if I hadn't read a light novel about this kind of circumstances recently." That, was of course, a big lie. He hadn't read a book in over two years (Well, from his perspective), and it wasn't hypothetics, but fact he knew to be true through prior experience.

"Y-yeah, hypothetics…" Klein sighed in relief, beginning to calm down a little, regaining his calm composure.

"Still, it is strange that everyone who has died has failed to respawn…" Kirito continued, then added, "If I were you I'd start looking for basic quests and basic monsters to slay for EXP as soon as possible. It'll be a real advantage if we find that I'm right. I wouldn't be surprised if the mastermind, who I believe to be Kayaba-san, explained what was happening soon. Of course, if I'm wrong, then the problem should be fixed soon. One more thing, stay safe."

"Yeah, you too… but if you're right, then I have to say, you should become a detective when we're released!" Klein sent a grin his way, which was then returned by Kirito.

"Heh, too bad I think I'm a little too young for that." Kirito rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"Seriously? I thought you were at least twenty!" Klein stared, a little shocked.

Kirito blinked twice at the look Klein gave him, and then thought, " _Well, technically I'm only nineteen…"_

"Well, I'm a bit mature for my age…" He answered truthfully. He was mature for both his mental age, and even more so for his physical age.

The two then split up, only to be teleported an hour later to the center of the town of beginnings adjacent to each other.

"So, looks like I was right about him explaining everything soon."

"Yeah. Though, for all our sakes, I hope you're wrong."

Sending a glare to the sky, approximately the location in which Kayaba would appear, he growled, "Same here."

Sure enough, Kayaba soon appeared and explained what was happening, which was exactly as Kirito assumed.

Kayaba then placed a mirror in everyone's menus, and Kirito, not hesitating a moment, opened his menu, took out the mirror, transformed to his real life self, thanking Kikuoka that he was indeed in his fourteen year old body, as it would be difficult to explain otherwise once everything was over, and then turned around to face Klein who was transformed back to his real life self.

"Hey, Klei?" Kirito murmured, feigning confusion, as he pretended to look for Klein.

"Kirito?" Klein asked, looking shocked at seeing a fourteen year old Kirito, "Y-you're only fourteen?!"

After figuring out what happened, though Kirito already knew, they continued to listen to Kayaba, and afterwards they hurried off, and Kirito offered, "Hey, Klein-san, would you like to come with me to the next town? If we hurry we can get an advantage and we'll be able to survive more easily. Of course, you can bring any friends you have as well…?" He noticed a hesitating look on Klein's face, and tilted his head in confusion.

"Sorry dude, I just… don't know if I can trust you… You came up with the conclusion of what really happened too easily… and you don't really seem to be the age you show yourself as… and you're not scared either… I mean, it isn't that I think you're actually Kayaba or anything like that, I just feel that you're hiding something."

Kirito looked at Klein, blinked twice, then, pretending it was nothing, he said, "No! No problem! I mean, I'm as afraid as anyone else… Well, almost as afraid… I'm more skilled and I'm a beta-tester, so I know I'll likely survive… but… Anyways, I completely understand your reasoning. How about instead I give you a friend request and send you the map data once I get there?"

Glancing guiltily at Kirito, Klein nodded, and accepted the friend request that Kirito sent him.

"By the way Klein-san, that look suits you much better!" Kirito sent him a grin, one that anyone could see was without malice and was only filled with goodwill and friendship.

Feeling even more guilty than before, Klein sent back, grinning as well, though it was forced, "Although I can say the same for you, definitely not to the same degree! Maybe after you put on a few years!"

They then turned their backs on each other, and after a few steps Klein turned back, and was about to change his mind about not going with Kirito, but found that he was already gone.

As Kirito head out to the wild, he sighed, and thought, " _I wasn't even able to fix my biggest regret from back in Sword Art Online… Well, this time I won't let the Moonlight Black Cats die at the very least."_

Floor 1 Boss Meeting...

" _Okay, I'm mentally prepared to see Asuna! Mentally prepared. Mentally prepared… Oh gawd, I hope I don't lose it… No! I won't lose it! I'm prepared! I will become her boyfriend once again!"_

As he sat down, a little ways away from Asuna, where he sat the first time he sat in these stands, he saw a group talking to Argo.

" _Wait, did one of them point at me? I don't remember this happening last time!"_ Kirito began to panic, then remembered, " _I was the one who 'discovered' the dungeon, so of course I'm a bit famous, though I only passed the information to Argo, and asked for her to stay silent about it, and paid her nicely to do so, so it's only a rumor. There are also rumors, true they may be, that I'm constantly training and I don't fear death. While I do fear death, on a floor as low as this one, I don't even feel the least bit threatened."_

Kirito then noticed that Asuna stood up, waved a hand at Argo, and, Kirito saw her point at him.

As soon as they turned their heads away from him, he snuck around to a place where they couldn't see him, but he could hear them.

"So, Au-chan, you're interested in him?"

"Well, more that I'm interested in why everyone else is interested in him."

"Well, you see, his name is Kirito, and it is said that he's the best player in the game so far, though 'tis only a rumor. A client of mine, who you can buy the name of if you'd like, says that the first time he battled after entering the game he took out a hoard of low-level monsters without taking a single hit. He even did a leap-charge from one of the boars heads into the leader. There is also a rumor, though no one has disproved it, that he hasn't taken a break since day 1. There's another rumor about Ki-bou if you'd like to hear… but it'll cost you double…"

"Yes, yes, I'll fork over the cash…" Asuna handed over a couple coins, and Argo was about to continue, when she felt an intense bloodlust, and she froze up.

"Info-san?" Asuna looked at her, a worried look on her face.

"Well, Argo-san, I thought I paid you quite the large sum of money to keep that off the table, did I not? And I believe it would suit your interest to continue doing so."

"O-oh, and how so?"

"Well, let's just say that if my plan plays out nicely, then me being infamous will suit all the beta-testers such as yourself."

After a few moments, Asuna pitched in, looking curiously at Kirito, "So, why did you eavesdrop on us in the first place?"

Looking a tad paler, Kirito answered, "W-well, I saw two attractive ladies looking at me, huddled up, and I thought, 'Well, this'll be interesting to listen to'!" He prayed that flattery would work.

Argo blushed a little, but Asuna didn't buy it.

"Oh, really? And how would you know we're beautiful when you can't even see our faces? We are wearing hoods after all."

Kirito remained silent, looking paler, now receiving glares from both the girls.

"Okay, okay, I was interested in why the only girl in the clearing group was interested in me! Even with that getup I can tell you're a lady."

Kirito made sure not to look downwards as he said that.

"Also, I have a good eye, I can see that out of everyone here you have the most potential as a swordsman… err… swordswoman."

Kirito prayed that flattery would work this time.

Thankfully, this time it did, though Argo was still glaring at him.

"And Argo-san, you should appreciate my skills at sneaking! You are an info dealer after all! And, I'd even go so far as to call you a skilled one!"

Sadly, this time Argo wasn't easily flattered.

"Hmm… I'll forgive you… but under one condition. You need to tell me why you call everyone their names with honorifics even though we're in virtual reality! You weren't like that in the beta-test."

Kirito stared at her for a few moments.

Then he blinked twice.

Then he facepalmed.

"Ugh, I didn't even notice I was doing it. Thanks for reminding me." Kirito banged his head on a nearby column a couple times.

"Uh, why wouldn't he speak to people with honorifics? Isn't it rude not to?" Asuna tilted her head in confusion.

"Au-san, in games people tend to not use honorifics as much. Argo-sa-, Argo, uses -bou, and -chan because it's her thing, also, they aren't formal honorifics. People may still use -chan, -bou, or -tan, but they usually won't use -sama, -san, senpai, sempai, -ojousama, sensei or any other respectful honorific." Kirito explained, making sure to only use the 'Au' part of Asuna's name that he heard while eavesdropping.

"My name's Asuna, not Au-san." Asuna corrected him as soon as he finished.

"Sorry Asuna-san." He then waved his farewell and sat down at his seat.

Soon after Diavel's speech was given, along with the anti-beta-tester speech by Kibaou, and the antithesis to Kibaou's speech by Agil.

They were then ordered to go into teams of 6, to which many of the players either flocked to those they knew or to Kirito. Kirito, not wanting to get involved with them, waded through them until he could see Asuna, and then shouted out, "Hey, Asuna-san, want to be my partner?"

"Ooh! A babe!"

"And Kirito knows her name?"

"Ahh, the God and Goddess of SAO!"

" _Since when am I a God?"_ Kirito wondered, his irritation shown by his face and body.

"A-are you sure? It looks like you got a lot of volunteers over there?" Asuna asked.

"Hmm? What're you talking about?" Kirito asked, feigning ignorance.

"Ahh, the large mass of people shouting behind you?"

"Hmm?" Kirito turned around, and let out a small chuckle, "Oh! You're talking about the large group of parasites! Sorry, but I don't work with parasites."

Every single one of the 'parasites' looked like they got struck by an arrow when he said that, and in a melancholy, went into their own groups.

"Hmph, I don't want to work with someone who's so arrogant!" Asuna turned her head away from him.

"You mean that act? Sorry, but I'm trying to become infamous, and its kinda hard if I'm nice to everyone." He whispered to her, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly, and thought, " _This is a lot harder than the first time…"_

Turning back to face him, she put her hand to her chin and murmured, "Oh right, you said something about becoming infamous… to help the beta-testers, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. I'm sure you'll understand eventually." " _Though I'd rather you not, as I believe my infamy will only begin once someone dies during a boss fight."_

"Oi, Kirito-sama," Kirito twitched slightly as he heard Diavel greet him with -sama, "Could you and the princess Asuna-sama perhaps be the rearguards and deal with the minions while everyone else goes after the boss?"

"Sure, as long as _you_ don't do anything stupid." Kirito shrugged.

"And why would I do that?" He asked, sweat dropping from his cheek.

"I look around and I see not a person who understands the gravity of the situation we're in. We're in a death game made by a mad scientist who obviously has no concern for human life. Not only that, but this death game has one hundred levels. _But_ , we're also under a time limit. Do you really think that when the batteries of the Nerve Gear nearly reach a point where they no longer have the juice to kill a person, that Kayaba will just let us continue? No, he'll probably summon the strongest players to the room of the final boss, and if we win, we are set free, or if we lose, which will happen unless we're already near the hundredth floor, we all die. Every. Single. One. Of. Us. Period. Of course, this is only a theory, a hypothesis, my only proof is logic, but if you need more proof, just look at the situation we're in now. In a death game trapped by a mad man who knows not the true value of life."

Both Asuna and Diavel paled slightly at that. So did a few eavesdroppers.

Little did Kirito know that that would affect the course of the whole game.

 _Later… Training with Asuna before the battle..._

"Asuna-san, do you know why all those people gathered at the strategy meeting?" He asked suddenly during the middle of a training session.

"Hm?"

"It's not about self-sacrifice if that's what you believe. Well, certainly there may be one or two of that type, but most of them… they're just in it because they don't want to be late."  
"La-late? Late for what?"

"Late for the front lines. If they don't get in early they'll feel uneasy." He explained, "Though I can only imagine fighting a boss someplace they don't know, even despite fearing death, is more frightening than anything."

"So… it's like wanting to stay in the top 10 in your grade, and keeping your lowest scores in the 70s… right?" Asuna asked, tilting her head slightly.

Sweat dropping from his cheek, he chuckled slightly, and answered, "I guess. I wouldn't say that's wrong. A clearing group would be the elites, like those in the top 10. Though, in this case, I'd hope at least the top 300 by the time we get into the middle to high floors."

"Hmm… so, what were those switches and such that you mentioned on the way here?" Asuna grumbled.

"Ahh, switch is a tactic used in battle. Basically, Party Member A is attacking a monster, then either that member or Member B shouts 'Switch' and Member B and A switch spots due to time between attacks, lack of HP, or another reason. When Member B switches in they usually use an attack right away, especially if the monster has a status like Stun or Paralysis. Stun is when a mob is attacked and they are temporarily unable to move due to the impact of the attack, while Paralysis is similar, but not from the impact of an attack, typically lasts longer, and can be caused by poison."

"I see." Asuna nodded.

After a little battle, Asuna got a Wind Fleuret from a monster drop, and Argo and Kirito suggested they get it upgraded.

"Hmm… it's faster and lighter now… can it go to +5?" Asuna inquired.

"We can't get the necessary materials yet." Argo and Kirito answered simultaneously.

"Oh, is that so?" Asuna stated.

"Ahh, Asuna-san, I'm gonna go train a little, I'll be back later." Kirito waved, and left.

After he left, Argo muttered, "He's still using the honorifics." and then, "Something about him changed since the beta tests. I wonder what."

 _Later..._

"Ahh, Ki-bou, I just thought I'd tell you that Asuna isn't planning to die. People who plan to die don't do that sort of shopping." Argo told him covertly.

"Hmm, thanks for the info, info-san." Kirito joked, imitating Asuna's nickname for her.

"Hmm… Ki-bou, do you maybe _like_ Au-chan?" Argo pressed.

Kirito, in mock astonishment, exclaimed, "Huaahh? How'd you know?!"

"Hmm, well, if you care so little as to tell me, maybe I'll make that price _really_ cheap." Argo teased.

Suddenly, Kirito was begging Argo to be merciful, and Argo relented to keep the price relatively expensive.

On the way home, separate from Argo, he ran into Asuna, who was also separate from Argo, and said, "Want to come to my place?"

"..." Asuna stared at him, trying to figure him out.

"I have milk, soundproof door, and a bath." Kirito continued.

"Yes!"

"The bath?"

"Of course!"

"I should tell you the door between the living room and the bathroom is not soundproof, so if I have any visitors they will be able to hear you." Kirito explained.

"Then don't invite anyone in."

"If it's Argo they'll just break in."

"... Just do your best." Asuna sighed, then walked back home with him.

In the middle of Asuna's bath, Argo knocked on the door, and said, "I have that information from the other day. And while I'm here, I heard that you came home with Au-chan from some women-starving gamers."

"Nope. No way she of all people would come to this run down garbage-hole. The only things it has are a bath, milk, and soundproof doors and walls." Kirito waved her off.

"Hmm, really."

*Sound comes from bathroom*

Kirito begins to sweat.

"Okay, so she did come here." Kirito answered, "And she's taking a bath, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't enter the room, which I know you'd do if I didn't answer truthfully."

"Hmm, great judge of character Ki-bou, maybe you should change careers." Argo joked, "I could really use an apprentice as intuitive as you are."

Sweat dropped from the side of Kirito's face.

 _Halfway through the battle..._

"Diavel~sa~n!~~" Kirito shouted, using his hand to lift himself onto Illfang's sub-weapon, Katana, and then ran forward, just managing to push Diavel under the katana, at the cost of his own hand.

"Tche," Kirito grunted, "I told you not to be stupid. Now I'm not going after the minions."

"Gomen." Diavel apologized, sweat dropping, while thinking, " _I definitely saw myself dead, the upper half of my head cut off, but no, Kirito saved me."_

But, in exchange for Diavel's life, another person, one who Kirito didn't recognize as a late-level floor clearer, was cut in half and died.

Frustrated, angry, enraged, and above all, pissed to hell, Kirito let out a battle cry, "FUAAHHHHHH!" And rushed the beast, and seeing him pushing the beast back, the spirits of those who had just lost it all, came back, and Diavel continued to shout out orders.

Asuna soon joined in saying, "Don't go acting all cool all by yourself, we're partners, aren't we?"

"We can do it!" A person shouted, but was countered by Kibaou, who said, "No, the players will reach their limit first, linear isn't enough."

But, despite of this, Asuna, and more so Kirito, were yet to take a hit. Soon enough, Asuna switched with Agil for a few moments, but moments after switching back in, Kirito used horizontal and got the last hit.

"W-WE WON!" Everyone shouted at once, cheering.

"We- no, they actually did it." Kibaou muttered to himself, stunned.

 _Next Chapter..._

 _Still a Beater?_


End file.
